Guest Speaker: Filmmaker Presents
Behind Closed Doors
By Leslie Quander Wooldridge
A recent SAMHSA in-service session
highlighted the experiences of trauma
survivors and provided a glimpse of
their recovery.
The award-winning documentary, Behind
Closed Doors, was produced with funds
from a SAMHSA grant. The film tells
the story of four women who spent years
struggling to overcome childhood abuse
only to be traumatized again within
the walls of psychiatric hospitals.
Their journeys toward healing began
when they entered a non-traditional
community program that offered safety,
compassion, and hope.
Sandra “Sandy” Heisler,
one of the women featured in the film,
attended the in-service to talk about
how she endured—and eventually
overcame—personal trauma that
involved childhood abuse, substance
abuse, rape, and even homelessness. “No
one offered to help,” she remembered
of her life before she entered the
community program. “I thought
my life was over and I wanted to die.”
 Talking to an audience of SAMHSA staff
members, some of whom wiped away tears
as she spoke, Ms. Heisler said her
entrance into the community program
was the beginning of a new life. “To
this day, I still live in fear, but
I handle it a little differently,” Ms.
Heisler explained with a clear voice,
noting that she now is in recovery. “The
reason I’m standing here today
is because someone cared enough about
me to help me out.”
The documentary that delves into Ms.
Heisler’s story, as well as the
experiences of other trauma survivors,
was created by Laura Cain, J.D., Managing
Attorney of the Adult Mental Health
Unit at the Maryland Disability Law
Center.
To request a free copy of the film,
please contact the law center by email
at behindcloseddoors@mdlcbalto.org or
by phone at 410-727-6352, ext. 0. 
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